Algonquin man sentenced to 25 years on sex charges

By CHELSEA McDOUGALL - cmcdougall@shawmedia.com

Aug. 22, 2014

WOODSTOCK – Thomas Reed, a man convicted of raping his former girlfriend's young daughter, admitted to a sex evaluator that he still fantasized about the girl and other criminal sex acts that mirror his conviction, prosecutors said.

Assistant State's Attorney Kate Lenhard used Reed's own words at a hearing Friday to ask that the Algonquin man be sentenced to 37 years behind bars. The maximum prison term he faced was 60 years.

A jury convicted Reed in June of raping the young girl more than 10 years ago when she was between 9 and 12 years old. Reed was a father figure to the girl, testimony revealed.

McHenry County Judge Gordon Graham sentenced Reed to a total of 25 years on three separate sex charges. Two of the sentences imposed must be served at 85 percent, and one is eligible for day-for-day credit, meaning Reed, 53, could be released in about 19 years.

"These things should not happen to our children. Nine-year-olds who are traumatized is just unacceptable," the judge said.

During the June trial, the victim, now 23, detailed sexual encounters with Reed that happened at the McHenry home she and Reed shared with her family. The woman said he started by first fondling her, and eventually raped the girl, her testimony revealed.

When asking for leniency, Reed's defense attorney Brian Erwin pointed out that the girl twice made allegations against Reed – in 2002, and again in 2006 – before coming forward with allegations that led to Reed's 2012 arrest by McHenry police. Each time, the girl's story changed, Erwin said, and no charges were ever brought.

"This is the fifth version of events that's coming out," Erwin said.

In a statement before the court, Reed, who is married, maintained his innocence.

"I did not do, nor would I ever do, the terrible, monstrous things that [the victim] accused me of," Reed said. "… My hope is to be reunited with my family and my wife as soon as possible."

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